Cricket is an autonomous robot that
walks around by moving all six legs using three motors. He avoids
objects when touched by the feelers, chirps randomly, and blinks
his lights. After touching an obstacle he makes various sounds
depending on which feeler sensed the object. All his functions
are under control of the on board Stamp II controller. Cricket
is designed to be made from readily available materials. The body
is made of Lexan used in glass window replacement. The legs are
made from aluminum tubing, a rubber grommet, a hinged standoff,
and some plastic wire cover. Brain power comes from a Parallax
Stamp II module which can be re-programmed by the user. A infrared
sensor enables Cricket to respond to commands from a Sony remote
control which overrides his autonomous behavior. Pushing the remote
control buttons 0 - 9 causes Cricket to make various sounds and
other buttons can steer his direction and actions. Power comes
from nickel-cadmium batteries mounted inside his battery pack
but he can also run from AA batteries.